Hydraulic vise



J. A. MOOSMAN 2,851,912

HYDRAULIC VISE Filed Jan. 10, 1955 Sept. 16, 1958 p 26 a 3% 52 F' 1 l INVENTOR.

15 33 Jim 4. MaaflM/v 2 BY Y 4 2 3/ M Ma) U Arron n15 United States Patent assignments, to Johnston Testers, Inc., Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application January 10, 1955, Serial No. 480,801

1 Claim. (Cl. 81--17.2)

V This invention relates to'a vise and more particularly to'a hydraulic vise adapted to be actuated by' conventional city-water pressure but capable of applying pressures greater than said "city-water pressure.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a hydraulic vise which may be closed or opened by the application of city-water pressure to one end or the other of a hydraulic cylinder, and wherein ahand pump is provided to apply pressures higher than the city-water pressure when needed.

A preferred form of the invention is described in the following detailed specification, and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a vise embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, of another form of the hydraulic system.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the same reference numerals are used to denote the same elements throughout the various views shown, the vise, generally indicated at 10, is provided with a stub shaft 11 at its lower end. The stub shaft 11 is slidably received within the upper end of a vertical tubular supporting post 12 embedded in the floor 13.

The vise comprises a C-shaped member 14 having two legs 15 and 16. The stub shaft 11 is connected to the outer side of the leg 15 and extends perpendicularly thereto whereby the C-shaped member 14 is mounted in an upright position. The lower leg 15 is provided with a V-shaped notch 17 extending transversely across the inner surface thereof, thus providing a stationary inwardly facing jaw. The rear face of the base portion of the C-shaped member 14 is provided with a longitudinally extending groove 18. A longitudinal slot 19, narrower than the groove 18, connects the groove 18 with the inner opening between the legs 15 and 16. A sliding jaw 20, having a dovetail extension 21, is slidably mounted in the slot 19 in the manner best seen in Fig. 3. As can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the sliding jaw 20 is provided with a V-shaped notch 22 in opposed relation with the notch 17 previously described.

A blind bore 23 extends inwardly from the outer surface of the upper leg 16, and a hydraulic cylinder 24 is mounted therein by bolts 25. -A piston 26 is slidably mounted in the cylinder 24. A piston rod 27 connected to the piston 26 extends through a bore 28 in the leg 16 and is connected to the sliding jaw 20.

A pair of inlet and outlet ports 29 and 30, respectively, are located adjacent the upper end of the cylinder 24. Similarly, a pair of inlet and outlet ports 31 and 32, respectively, are located adjacent the lower end of the cylinder 24. The ports 31 and 32 are in register with two ports 33 and 34 formed in the leg 16.

A fluid conduit 35 connects the port 33 with a source or water under pressure (not shown), for example, the city-water supply, and a valve 36 is incorporated in said 2,851,912 Patented Sept. 16, 1958 conduit. Similarly, a branch conduit 37, having a valve 38 incorporated therein, connects the water supply with the port 29. A branch conduit 39 connects the water supply to the inlet side of a hand pump 40. Another conduit 41 connects llh6 '011tli of the pump 40 with the conduit 37 between the valve 38 and the port 29. .A conduit 42 connects the port 30 with a discharge drain (not shown). A valve 43 is incorporated in the conduit 42. Another conduit 44, having a valve 45 therein, connects the port 34 with said drain.

In the operation of the vise 10, to lightly grip an object such as indicated in dot-dash lines at 46, the valves 38 and 45 are opened while the valves 36 and 43 :remain closed. The fluid enters the cylinder above the piston 26 and forces the sliding jaw 20 downwardly into contact with the object 46. The fluid below the piston 26 escapes through the conduit 44 and the valve 45. If it is desired to tightly grip the object, the valve 38 is closed and the hand pump 40 is operated to apply additional pressure above the piston 26. When it is desired to open the vise 10, the valves 38 and 45 are closed and the valves 36 and 43 are opened, thus applying pressure below the piston 26 through the conduit 35 and permitting the fluid thereabove to escape through the conduit 42.

While the various valves are shown schematically as separate valves, it is contemplated that the various valving functions could all be combined in a single multiple ported valve structure operated by a single control lever or handle. Thus, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the cylinder 24 need have only two ports, and a fourway valve 50 combines the functions of valves 36, 38, 43 and 54. A conduit 51 connects a first port of valve 50 with a source of fluid under pressure, such as a city water supply. A conduit 52 connects a second port of the valve 50 with the port 33 at the lower end of cylinder 24. The port 29 at the upper end of cylinder 24 is connected by a conduit 53 with a third port in the valve 50. A drain pipe 54 makes connection with the fourth port of valve 50. The pump 40 is connected between the conduits 51 and 53 and includes a cylinder-and-piston assembly 54 and a check valve 55 therebelow to maintain a boosted pressure on the upper surface of piston 26. A conduit 56 provides a fluid passage between the cylinder of pump 40 and the fluid under pressure in conduit 51. A check valve 57 in conduit 51 which closes to block a reverse flow toward the fluid supply conveniently substitutes for actuating the valve 38 in the schematic arrangement of Fig. 2 when it is desired to use pump 40. i

In an operation of the embodiment of Fig. 4, the valve 50 is operated to interconnect the conduit 51 with the conduit 53, and the conduit 52 with the drain pipe 54 when it is desired to lower the movable jaw 20 into engagement with an object 46. The fluid under pressure enters the cylinder through the port 29 and forces the piston 26 downwardly, the fluid therebelow escaping through the conduit 52. If it is desired to more tightly grip the object, the piston of pump 40 is actuated, the check valve 55 serving to transmit the higher pressure created by pump 40 and the check valve 57 serving to retain this pressure for application to the piston 26.

To raise the movable jaw 20, the four-way valve 50 is rotated to interconnect the conduit 51 with the conduit 52, and the conduit 53 with the drain pipe 54. Fluid pressure is transmitted by the check valve 57 in conduit 51 and operates to raise the piston 26. Fluid thereabove in cylinder 24 passes out through the conduit 53 and pipe 54.

From the foregoing description, it may be seen that the invention provides a simple eflicient vise .adapted in normal use to be opened and closed by city-water pressure, and wherein additional pressure may be applied by use of a simple hand pump incorporated therewith.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, it is obvious that various changes may be made therein by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a hydraulic vise, an integral C-shaped member including an upper and a lower horizontally disposed leg and a vertically disposed base portion connecting said legs, tubular means extending perpendicular to said lower leg for mounting said C-shaped member in an upright porod extending through said upper leg and connecting said piston to said movable jaw to move said movable jaw toward and away from said lower leg, first conduit means for connection with a water-supply system for supplying water under pressure to said end of said cylinder adjacent said movable jaw and for discharging water from said end of said cylinder remote from said movable jaw, second conduit means for supplying water under pressure to said end of said cylinder adjacent said movable jaw and for discharging water from said end of said cylinder remote from said movable jaw, valve means for controlling said first and second conduit means, and a hand pump in said first conduit means connected between the inlet for said water supply and the end of said cylinder remote from said movable jaw for increasing the pressure of the water in said end of said cylinder remote from said movable jaw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 715,598 Philipp Dec. 9, 1902 856,416 McLarty June 11, 1907 965,807 Garvey July 26, 1910 999,087 Becker et al July 25, 1911 1,939,556 Kammer Dec. 12, 1933 2,003,922 Claret June 4, 1935 2,365,987 Zimmerman Dec. 26, 1944 2,552,304 Arter May 8, 1951 OTHER REFERENCES 512,082 Germany Nov. 6, 1930 

